Before I begin today’s column, a huge thanks to everyone who took part in last week’s discussion concerning “favourite lyrics”. It was by far the most popular ‘Sputnik Discusses’ thus far and I’m certain that many readers found it as enlightening as I did. Also, an apology if this particular column comes off a little half-hearted in comparison. In between reading all of those fantastic lyrics, writing 4 reviews and putting together a literal smorgasbord of live videos from Australia’s recent Soundwave Festival, it’s fair to state that my spare time has been scarce of late. Oh well, let’s see how it goes, shall we?

As per my usual orderly want to link my blogs, I’d like to point your attention towards last weekend’s Soundwave Festival post, which included ten live videos from Day-1 of the annual Australian event (My Day-2 wrap will be posted by this weekend). Just attending the festival got me to thinking: If given the choice of only one, would I prefer to get my dose of live music by way of (a) festivals or (b) headline gigs (with one or two support acts)? In all honesty, my decision on this has wavered from year to year… And there are more factors that go into the choice than one might initially think.

Now, a musical purist might feel that there is no competition in this debate. Surely it’s all about the music and a band’s “true” fans, so headline gigs are the way to go. I won’t lie; that’s the way I used to feel. But nowadays, I’m not so sure, since a number of factors have seemed to narrow the gap between the two forms of live music. Firstly, the difference in setlist length between a band’s headline gig and their festival set appears to be getting smaller… This is especially the case for festival headliners and newer bands. The only significant difference would be for veteran bands playing mid-afternoon festival sets. Using Soundwave as an example, I’m talking groups such as Millencolin and Fear Factory.

Of course, there are a handful of discouraging factors regarding festivals… Certain types of attendees (such as those pesky half-hearted fans) can be off-putting in some instances, as can the sheer size of the crowds at some venues. Other festival negatives include those dreaded timetable clashes, as well as a greater chance of sets being cut short due to technical or weather issues.

On the flip-side, festivals can provide the average music fan an excellent opportunity to either discover new bands, or simply view musicians who they otherwise wouldn’t have. But the one major over-riding factor that has swung the pendulum back in favor of festivals for yours truly is pure and simply; VALUE! While the following ticket costs may seem like an exaggerated example, it’s an entirely real one that me and a group of friends were faced with last month:

– 1 Day Soundwave Festival Ticket (including Slash): Approximately $140
– 2 Day Soundwave Festival Ticket (including Slash & Steel Panther): Approximately $190
– Ticket to see Slash and Steel Panther play a separate show: Approximately $120

So, for an extra $70, you would (based on my experience of seeing ten bands per day at Soundwave) get to see an extra 18 bands (at an average of $3.89 per band)! And as for the setlist length comparison; Slash played just 3 extra songs at his headline gig, while Steel Panther didn’t play any additional tracks!

So, the discussion point should be obvious concerning this topic: If given the choice of one or the other, do you prefer to attend festivals or headline gigs? And what are some of the main factors that you take into account when coming to such a decision. Obviously, there will be times when you just don’t have a choice (many bands rarely play festivals, for instance), but sometimes you do… And that is what we are here to debate today.

So, as they say at the end of those dreaded English essays: DISCUSS…..